Welcome Home
by 0myao
Summary: Claire and Noctis grew up together, becoming best of friends. Now, things are tense between the pair when Noctis's father announces their arranged marriage. AU.


**The beginning**

"What the hell? Is this some sick joke?" The pink haired woman glared at the man, and spoke with disgust laced in her voice.

She immediately jumped up from her seat, pointed her finger toward a black haired man sitting next to her whom she was told to marry, looked at him with a scowl, and turned back to the man behind the desk. "You expect me to marry _him_?"

The man next to her winced in return, with a look of languish surrounding his face.

"It's not like I had a choice in all this..." The man looked down, guilt and shame evident in his voice.

"Shut the hell up!" The woman immediately turned her head back toward her new "fiance" and lifted her fist so that she could punch the man.

In response, the man flinched back covering his face with his arms, but as she was about to throw the punch, she held back at the last second. Letting her arm drop, the woman released a sigh, and turned around once more, ignoring the man seated next to her. In a calmer tone than before, she asked. "So please, tell me why you want us to get married?"

The middle aged man sitting behind the desk looked at the two expectantly, his normally stoic face momentarily filled with amusement. Letting out a soft chuckle, he replied. "Because Claire..."

"It's Lightning." Claire interrupted rudely.

"Right, Lightning... This was a decision that we, as your parents and Noctis's parents came up with..."

"Don't tell me that..." Claire interrupted once again, before being interrupted herself.

"Yes, Lightning, that means the four of us. We made this decision long before they passed away." The older man finished.

"...how long ago?" Claire asked quietly with her head down. She couldn't look him in the eye. The subject of Claire's parents was a sensitive topic. Not only for her, but for everyone who knew them.

"You and Noctis were only eleven when we came to the decision." The man concluded.

Claire looked toward Noctis, who was still sitting down next to her, his face looking down in shame.

For a moment, her eyes flashed brightly with regret, but soon disappeared like it was never there to begin with.

'_We were close once.'_

_*10 Years Ago*_

"_Claire...please stop that." Noctis, a boy with spiky black hair groaned in complaint._

"_Come on Noctis! You're too quiet, it's good to have other people around, especially since school is starting. You need friends." The girl named Claire spoke with her colloquial tone of voice._

_Noctis looked at Claire with a look of worry. With his voice shaking, the docile boy looked up at Claire with his innocent blue eyes and said, "But I already have you...does this mean you don't want to be my friend anymore?"_

_Claire could only look at Noctis with a dumbfounded expression. "Why would I not? You're irreplaceable. I'm just saying you need to have more friends."_

"_But why?" Noctis said stubbornly. The naive boy couldn't understand why._

"_We spend enough time together. I mean, I have other friends like Vanille and Hope. You only have me. Noct, there's going to be a time where I may not be there anymore." Claire explained solemnly, using hand gestures as if teaching a lesson._

"_I...don't understand. Am I not good enough?" Noctis asked, bringing out feelings from his mind. He grabbed onto Claire's sleeve tightly, not wanting to let her go._

"_Ugh, Noct, please, just try to talk to our classmates. I worry about you." Claire pouted. She was now seemingly pleading with Noctis to listen to her. _

"_...fine." Noctis sighed in defeat. With that, he loosened his grip on her shirt, and soon removed his hands from them. When Claire wanted something, especially from Noctis, she wouldn't give up until things went her way._

"_Good! Now let's go!" Claire shouted cheerfully._

_Grabbing Noctis's hand, she ran toward the school gates, with Noctis struggling to match her pace._

_From the parking lot, the four adults, the parents of the two children, watched the pair with mixed emotions._

"_Look at our children, Noct is clinging to Claire like his life is depending on her." Evelyn Farron, the mother of Claire, observed with a bright look on her face. Evelyn was a young mother, with pink hair, and green eyes that complimented her bright, happy face._

"_Yes, it seems like my son has grown an attachment to your daughter." Serina Caelum, the mother of Noctis, said in agreement. Serina on the other hand, looked more mature than the other mother. With brown hair and deep blue eyes, her face was young, yet matured._

"_I do wish that Claire would rub off on Noctis, my boy has to toughen up if he's going to inherit the kingdom. It is good that he is kind, but in order for him to be a good king, he must be strong, yet fair." Gabriel Caelum, the father of Noctis, sighed. Like his son, Gabriel had black hair, but brown, cold eyes that matched his serious personality. _

"_Toughen up? I'm sorry, but my daughter is emotionally fragile, she relies on others too much. She needs to be more independent." William Farron, the father of Claire, clarified. Unlike the previous man, William had a more peaceful look on his face. With pale blue eyes that matched the sky, he looked the most approachable of the four._

"_That's it!" Evelyn gasped in realization. "Maybe if we arrange a marriage between the two of them, then maybe things will work out in our favor."_

_Gabriel had a thoughtful look on his face, while Serina and William's faces appeared more hesitant._

"_Hmm, that doesn't sound too bad. That may just work. The two need to be more like each other, bringing them together may make them better people." Gabriel suggested._

"_I don't know about that... It'd be nice to see them together, but ultimately, it should be their choice, if they aren't happy with each other, then what's the point of that?" Serina pointed out. A slight frown formed on her face as she said that. Her blue eyes shown with worry. "They may be best friends now, but who knows what could happen in the future?"_

"_Serina is right, we're their parents, not their masters. There's only so much we can decide for them. They won't be this young and naive when they're at the age to marry." William added on. Truthfully, he did want Noctis for his daughter, but he was also wise enough to know that it wasn't his decision to make._

_A frown soon took over Evelyn's bright face. She looked down thoughtfully. After a moment of silence, she spoke, "I guess, but what if they _do _get along by then? Can't we at least try to press the idea upon them? If they're that against it, then I guess there is nothing we can do."_

_Nodding his head in agreement, Gabriel added, "I agree. We shouldn't dismiss the idea, but trying to place it upon them should be considered. Why not?"_

_Knowing that the two wouldn't stop until they reached an agreement, Serina sighed. "I guess, but if they say no, then that's the end of it. Understood?" _

_Serina then turned toward William. "Is that okay with you?"_

_Looking as defeated as the woman, William slowly nodded. "I guess it's worth trying out."_

_Clasping her hands together in excitement, Evelyn gave the other three adults a cheerful smile. _

"_Thank you! Just wait, this will all work out soon. But, in order for this to work, we do need to look into some things to avoid problems in this marriage." As Evelyn spoke, her tone of voice gradually changed from cheerful to serious in a matter of seconds._

_When WIlliam turned his head toward his wife, he could've almost sworn that he saw worry in her eyes, sparking curiosity and worry into his heart as well._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **This is all for now, I apologize for making it so short. I will do my best to work hard on this fic, so I hope I won't disappoint you readers.

**Disclaimer: **I own none of the Final Fantasy characters, nor do I own the title of _Final Fantasy._


End file.
